UVA Softball: Season ends with walk-off loss to North Florida in NCAA Tournament

North Florida rallied from a 5-1 sixth-inning deficit, scoring three runs in the sixth, then walking off the UVA Softball team in the seventh to win, 6-5, on Saturday in the 2025 NCAA Tournament.

The loss eliminated Virginia (38-19) from the tournament.

“Tip your cap to North Florida. They came out and got the job done,” Virginia coach Joanna Hardin said after the season-ending loss.

Virginia was making its second straight appearance in the NCAA Tournament, after a lengthy hiatus that had last seen the program earn an NCAA bid way back in 2010.

The ‘Hoos had reached the final day of the Knoxville Regional in 2024 before losing to #3 national seed Tennessee.

The 2025 season ended one game short of getting to the regional final.

“This is tough,” Hardin said. “You come into this situation, and you don’t know when your season will end, and that’s the beauty of being in the postseason. We’re not ready for it. No one is ready for it.”

Earlier in the day, the ‘Hoos had kept their season alive with a 12-0 elimination-game win over Elon, powered by homers from Jade Hylton and Macee Eaton, and a strong effort from Eden Bingham, who scattered three hits over five scoreless innings of work.

In the nightcap, another Hylton homer, a three-run shot, gave UVA a 4-1 lead in the second inning, and a Bella Cabral solo shot made it 5-1 in the sixth.

North Florida got closer in the bottom half of the sixth, on a Chloe Culp RBI double, Kirsten Caravaca sac fly, and a wild pitch that scored Alyssa Jones from third.

The Cavaliers left two runners on in its half of the seventh, leaving the door open for the Ospreys, who knotted the score at 5-5 on a leadoff homer from Mackenzie Woods off Bigham (18-10, 2.41 ERA).

Bigham struck out the next two, before issuing four-pitch walks to Lauren Brock and Allison Benning.

The next hitter, Culp, took the first pitch from Bigham up the middle for a single that scored Brock from second.

“I’m proud of the team,” Hardin said. “They came out really intent and competitive. I asked them to spill their guts on the field, and they did that, and that’s all you can ask. This hurts, and they’re hurting.

“I’m really proud of our senior class. They’ve done a great job of elevating our program,” Hardin said. “I’m really proud. I’m really gut-wrenched. You can have the highest of highs and lowest of lows in this game, but we’re really appreciative of the opportunities we had to compete this season.”